Monochrome
by BurningPaperMountains
Summary: Nico has found himself in a strange but familiar world. Is it a dream? And what is that voice calling his name? It's basically cannon.


Hello users of Fanfiction dot net. So I'm used to writing long-ish multi-chapter stories. But, I was having Nico feels, and a particularly bad day, so I decided to write a little one shot. I got the inspiration for this from this tumblr post post/52728177887/writers-block-a-picture-says-a-th ousand-words. I also got the cover photo from that post. Also, I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any of the characters (obviously). So, without further ado, my first (published) one-shot.

Monochrome

Nico had visited this place before. He had absolutely no idea where it was, or if it was even real. Every other time he had gone here, he had woken up. But who knows, maybe this time it might be real. He looked around to see if anything had changed. It hadn't. The same gray pillars outlined the same white stairs in the same grayscale world. Still, there was no way out. And still there was no one else; just him; just Nico Di Angelo; just how he liked it.

But somehow it felt different. He knew, he could see, there was no one else in this… whatever the hell you would call this place. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone watching him. The stereotypical chills down his spine crept their way to Nico. He turned up the collar of his suit jacket. Oh, well that was definitely new. In the past, he was just wearing his usual jeans, t-shirt and jacket. He looked down to see his new wardrobe. Ugh, he looked like a business man. He discovered, after examination, that his hair was buzzed down to the typical business haircut. Gods, what was going on?

After about five minutes, Nico decided that the situation was indeed real. The dream world was different from this, and the change in the outfit was not from his imagination. Did that mean his hair was stuck like this? He certainly hoped not.

_Tap, tap, tap_. Nico turned to what sounded like footsteps. His hand reached for his Stygian Iron sword, but that must have gone wherever the rest of his clothes were. He could only hope that whoever took it avoided the blade. If not, oh well. Can't do anything about it now.

He hadn't forgotten about the footsteps. His eyes scanned the area, but nothing could have caused it. He might just be hallucinating. Yeah, that must be it. Maybe he was dreaming. As if to dismiss his theory, a voice echoed through the deserted place. _"Nico"_.

Nico's head whipped around. Where did it come from? It might have come from the top of the steps. Or was it from past the columns? Or was it right behind him. He couldn't tell. It came again, _"Nico"_. He tried to focus, but it was almost as if the voice had come from nowhere, or possibly everywhere. A third time, louder, "_Nico"_.

"Who's there?" Nico questioned, a slight tremor in his voice. Gods, why was he scared? He had gone through Tartarus alone. He survived for days in a jar with his death trance. How could this be scary? The voice wasn't even threatening. It was soft, almost gentle, with a slight edge to it, though it sent a chill down Nico's spine.

The voice came again, _"Don't you recognize me, Nico?"_ Who was it? Nico's mind started racing, trying to figure out who it could be. It was female. It sounded young, maybe twelve years old, but it was definitely mature. And then there was the way it affected Nico. Now that it said something, it was familiar. So very familiar. _"I guess I'm not surprised. It's been a year."_ A tear dripped down Nico's face. Wait, was he crying? _"So you do remember. Or at least, a part of you does."_ Who was it? Why was he crying? _"It's nice to know you aren't held up with me anymore, brother."_

"Bianca?" How could he have forgotten that? Bianca was everything to him two years ago. He hadn't even recognized her voice. A hazy form appeared at the top of the stairs. Her voice echoed through the space. _"Know that I love you."_ Nico raced up the stairs. "Bianca!"

But when Nico reached the top of the staircase, he saw that the specter was not his sister. It was Percy. _"Hi Nico."_ Nico hadn't stopped crying. It was coming out even harder now. "Why are you here? Where's my sister?" Nico asked. "Give me back Bianca."

Percy raised the left corner of his lips into a half-smile. _"Bianca's gone, Nico."_

Nico shook his head. "I just heard her. She was here."

_"She was never here, Nico. Actually, I'm not here either, but that's not the point."_ He stepped closer to Nico. _"The point is, you made this place. You exiled yourself away. Come back to us."_ Nico stepped closer to him. Percy smiled and held out his arms. Nico ran towards them, but just as Nico reached him, Percy vanished. "Percy" Nico choked out. Nico fell to his knees.

Sobs erupted from Nico. His chest heaved as he fell down on his side. "You disappeared." He sputtered in between breaths. "Everyone disappears." His body started shaking. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. The columns started racing past Nico. He could feel the world turn as he lay there, wallowing in his self-pity. Gods, he thought, he must look pathetic. But on he cried. And on the pillars flew. And then, with no incentive, the pillars stopped. A hand materialized on Nico's shoulder. Nico looked up to see Jason behind him. Nico shot up, throwing Jason's hand away. Jason just stood there, holding his hand to Nico. "Go away. You can't help me." Jason's head turned, as if questioning him, but his mouth stayed closed.

Nico's face was still soaked with tears. He tried to wipe his face, but there was just too many. As he tried to swipe away the tears, two voices erupted in his head. _"Nico"_ This time he was sure it wasn't coming from anywhere. This time he recognized both Percy and Bianca. _"Go with him."_

"_You can come back."_ Percy's voice said.

"_You can move on."_ Said Bianca's.

Nico looked to Jason. He could see Leo, Piper, Frank, and Hazel behind Jason. Just like Percy and Jason, though, they were all hazy. Hazel's voice cut through the world. _"Come with us."_ Jason's hand remained outstretched. Nico rose to his feet. Percy and Annabeth walked in behind Jason as well. Nico took a shaky breath, and started towards them. Jason smiled. It was warm, inviting, brotherly. Nico grasped Jason's outstretched hand, and fell into an embrace. The world melted around them. Nico was free.

* * *

A jolt awakened Nico. He opened his eyes to see Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano leaning over him. "We have to go." She said. "Like, right now." Nico wiped his face. It was dry. Reyna looked at Nico. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Nico said, "Just a dream. Let's go." He turned to the Athena Parthenos. Coach Hedge was right next to it. As he approached the statue, he remembered the dream, and made a promise to make it back to them. He grabbed hold of the statue and waited for them to do the same. And then they were on their way.

End.

Hooray for angst. Yeah, I know I said I'd do HEA this week, but this took over. If you were looking forward to that, I'm sorry. But if you thought this was good, leave a review. You could also follow/favorite this story/me if it strikes your fancy (that sounded really British). So yeah, I might try to push out something else this weekend (if I do it'd be a chapter of HEA). Until the next time, make good choices. Peace!


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